DGCA to issue fresh guidelines on safety standards at unlicensed aerodromes and temporary airfields

Chandigarh: Over a decade after they were last issued, the minimum safety requirements for temporary airfields and unlicensed aerodromes are being revised by the Directorate General of Civil aviation (DGCA).

Several new clauses and additional technical specifications are being incorporated in the fresh guidelines, expected to be finalised shortly after feedback from the stakeholders. These rules were last issued in March 2012.

There are number of air strips in India having limited facilities which are not being used on a regular basis for aircraft operations and hence cannot be equated with regular airports. Since regulatory oversight at such sites is difficult, it is imperative to ensure minimum facilities required for safe aircraft operations are available at such airstrips, according to the civil regulator.

The DGCA has now specified that the runway length should be adequate to meet the operational requirements of the operating aeroplane and will be not less than the length determined by applying the corrections for local conditions to the operations and performance characteristics of the operating aeroplane.

Specifications listing the dimensions of the runway required in relation to the width of the aircraft’s main gear have been drawn up by the DGCA. In addition, taxiways at such airstrips would also be required to have markings as specified in aviation rules.

A clause on runway strip and obstacles has been added in the new rules which states that a runway strip of suitable dimension be available to provide safeguard and minimize damage in case of runway excursion by an aircraft beyond the runway limits. It should be properly levelled, free from vegetation and be flush with the surface of the runway, shoulder or stopway.

Further, no fixed object, other than visual aids required for air navigation or those required for aircraft safety purposes and which must be sited on the runway strip shall be permitted on any part of on the strip. Nor will any mobile object be permitted on this part during landing or take-off.

26/09/22 Vijay Mohan/Tribune

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Bird-hit plane being repaired expected to take off from Kannur in afternoon

Kannur: A Delhi-bound plane that was forced to land at the Kannur International Airport a day ago due to bird-hit, is expected to leave for the national capital, after repairs, by Tuesday afternoon.

 An Air India official at the airport told PTI that of the total 135 passengers, some had cancelled their tickets and took an Indigo flight, while some others had re-scheduled their travel leaving around 85 persons who were accommodated in hotels in Kannur.

"Of the 85, 24 were foreign bound passengers and they were sent to their respective destinations in Dubai and Bahrain on Air India Express flights yesterday and this morning.

"Now 61 domestic passengers are presently here and they would be sent to Delhi on the same plane once it is repaired," the official said.

The official also said that seven engineers arrived here from Delhi and they are presently examining and repairing the aircraft's engines which had remains of the birds which hit it.

After the repair work is completed, they will carry out engine run-ups to ascertain if the aircraft was flight worthy and if all goes well, the flight is tentatively scheduled to take-off at 1.30 PM, he said.

"It could also be later than that," he added. The airport SHO also confirmed these developments and told PTI that the flight will take off only after it is certified fit to fly.

The flight with 135 passengers had originated from Kozhikode and landed in the Kannur airport before flying to Delhi.

27/09/22 PTI/The Week

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66 percent of Indian pilots fall asleep in cockpit mid-flight, survey finds

Pilot fatigue is increasingly becoming one of global aviation’s top concerns and a recent survey of 542 Indian pilots - a majority of whom have admitted to falling asleep in-flight - has ignited calls for the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s (DGCA) regulations for fatigue management to be scrapped altogether.

Gurugram-based NGO, Safety Matters Foundation, laid bare an alarming statistic of “daytime sleepiness” when 66 percent of “Indian pilots flying with regional, domestic, domestic with destinations within four hours flying” reported having dozed off in the cockpit without alerting/consent of crew members.

“Based on their responses, it was found that about 54% of the pilots suffer from severe excessive daytime sleepiness while 41% suffer from moderate daytime sleepiness,” the survey stated its findings.

74% of the pilots cited morning departures as the leading cause of fatigue, which was also attributed to consecutive flights, up to 168 flying hours without a weekly off and disruption of rest/sleep pattern due to alternate day and night flights.

Insisting that pilots and their representative bodies should have a say in drafting new guidelines, the Indian Commercial Pilots' Association (IPCA) has urged DGCA to do away with all its existing norms in a letter dated September 12.

"Scrap all the current regulations, circulars, et cetera regarding Fatigue Management for flight crew as they violate all the scientific principles and various Operational Knowledge and Experience promulgated in various ICAO [International Civil Aviation Organisation] SARPs," it said.

26/09/22 Krishna Kakani/TimesNow

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Pilots' grouping seeks changes in fatigue management norms for flight crew

A grouping of pilots has sought changes in the norms regarding fatigue management for flight crew, saying the regulations should be based on scientific principles, operational knowledge and experience.

Fatigue among pilots is a concern and there have been reports of pilots falling asleep while operating flights.

A recent survey of 542 pilots by NGO Safety Matters Foundation showed 66 per cent of the respondents admitted that they have fallen asleep without planning/consent of the other crew or experienced micro sleep.

The Indian Commercial Pilots' Association (ICPA), which represents pilots of narrow-body aircraft at Air India, has urged civil aviation regulator DGCA to do away with all the current regulations related to fatigue management for flight crew and formulate new norms.

In a letter, dated September 12, written to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the association also said that professionals, organisations and associations like ICPA should be involved while formulating regulations on fatigue.

"Scrap all the current regulations, circulars, et cetera regarding Fatigue Management for flight crew as they violate all the Scientific Principles and various Operational Knowledge and Experience promulgated in various ICAO SARPs," it said.

ICAO is the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and SARPs refer to Standards and Recommended Practices.

The pilots' grouping has also suggested that regulations regarding fatigue should be formulated in line with ICAO SARPs based on scientific principles and operational knowledge and experience.

25/09/22 PTI/Economic Times

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Disaster averted after IndiGo flight suffers engine failure mid-air, lands safely at Kanpur Airport

An Indore-bound IndiGo flight made an emergency landing at Chakeri Airport in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, after the engine of the aircraft suffered a technical failure. However, IndiGo has arranged another aircraft for the passengers to continue with their journey to Indore. As reported by ANI, a technical snag cropped up on the aircraft, which resulted in the emergency landing that averted a major crisis. This was a chartered flight, which was carrying cricketers to Indore, after the road safety cricket series got over on September 15. However, another chartered flight was arranged to fly cricketers to Indore.

The incident also disturbed the take-off and landing schedules of other flights. Another flight coming from Mumbai had to wait for a long time to land in Kanpur, as the runway got occupied by the IndiGo flight. Also, passengers set to fly to Bengaluru and Mumbai got agitated as their flights were cancelled. Also, a discussion on making them fly via the Lucknow airport is also being considered.

Well, this is the second incident to be reported today, as a Cochin-bound Air India Express flight suffered a technical glitch, resulting in billowing smoke, forcing the occupants to evacuate the flight via emergency slides.

"A DGCA official said that during taxiing for takeoff, engine number two experienced smoke and fire. An appropriate Checklist was completed after the incident. Slides were deployed, and all passengers and Crew were evacuated on the taxiway and all of them were safe, and no injuries reported," said the official, adding that passengers have been transported to the terminal building.

18/09/22 ZeeNews

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Indigo Aircraft With Road Safety World Series Cricketers Grounded At Kanpur: Report

An IndiGo flight going from Kanpur to Indore could not take off on Friday after a  technical fault was discovered. However, another aircraft for the passengers was arranged to continue their journey to Indore. There are reports of IndiGO flights carrying international cricket players for the Road Safety World Series.

According to the ANI tweet,  IndiGO in its statement said that an aircraft bound to Indore was grounded at Kanpur airport due to a technical snag. An alternate aircraft has been arranged for passengers. A couple of days back Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar shared an image from inside the IndiGo flight where he and Yuvraj Singh were travelling along with other famous cricket players. The Road Safety World Series is taking place in four cities Kanpur, Indore, Dehradun, and Raipur. The 22-day tournament started on September 10 with Raipur playing host to the two semifinals and the final, which will be held on October 1. 

The number of passengers carried by domestic airlines surged to 770.70 lakh in January-August 2022 period as against 460.45 lakh recorded during the corresponding period of the last year, registering a year-on-year growth of 67.38 per cent, as per the official data released on Friday. As per ANI report data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the number of passengers carried by domestic airlines rose to 101.16 lakh in August 2022 as compared to 67.01 lakh in August 2021.

17/09/22 Suraj Alva/Republic World

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Air India Express fire was doused in just 90 seconds: Oman Airports

Muscat: The Fire and Rescue team at Muscat International Airport managed to extinguish a fire that broke out in the Air India Express aircraft last week, within 90 seconds.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Oman Airports said: “A proud morning salute to the Muscat International Airport’s Fire and Rescue team for their outstanding performance in responding, in only 90 seconds, and extinguishing an engine fire on an aircraft last week.”

Some passengers suffered minor injuries during an evacuation operation after smoke started billowing out of an Air India Express flight at Muscat International Airport on Wednesday morning.

The aircraft was taxiing towards the runway for take-off to Kochi at 11.20 am on Wednesday when officials noticed smoke coming out from the aircraft.

Airport officials said the passengers were immediately evacuated from the Air India Express flight on slides and the fire was brought under control.

17/09/22 Times of Oman

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High temperature reported from cargo hold of Mumbai-Nagpur AI flight

Mumbai: High temperature was reported from the cargo area of an Air India plane operating from Mumbai to Nagpur on Friday, and was caused due to a sealed radioactive consignment stowed in cargo hold of the aircraft.

An Air India spokesperson said that it was a normal landing for AI 627 with 72 passengers from Mumbai to Nagpur on Friday.

"No priority landing was sought. After landing, high temperature from the cargo hold was reported to be caused from a sealed consignment of radioactive material. The consignment is offloaded and accepted by the consignee," said the spokesperson.

After necessary clearance from regulatory authorities, AI 628 took off from Nagpur and reached Mumbai at 1.30 p.m. with 148 passengers, the spokesperson added.

As per rules, if dangerous goods classified as radioactive material are to be carried in any aircraft to, from or within India, the operator shall ensure that the consignor or the consignee, as the case may be, has written consent of the Central Government to carry such goods under section 16 of the Atomic Energy Act, 1962.

16/09/22 IANS/Daijiworld

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Air India’s Kochi Bound Plane Catches Fire At Muscat Airport, Passengers Evacuated

As many as 151 people were evacuated from an Air India Express plane at the Muscat airport on Wednesday after fire and smoke were noticed in one of the engines and aviation regulator DGCA is probing the incident, according to officials.

The incident happened when the Kochi-bound Boeing 737-800 aircraft was taxiing at the airport. Some passengers suffered minor bruises at the time of evacuation, the officials said.

There were a total of 141 passengers, 4 infants and 6 crew members onboard the aircraft, the officials said.

Videos and images on social media showed smoke emanating from the plane parked at the Muscat airport.

In a statement, an Air India Express spokesperson said there were 141 passengers onboard the plane, which was to depart Muscat at 1120 hours (local time).

"While it was on the taxiway, another aircraft reported observing fumes from one of the engines. However, there was no fire warning indication in the cockpit. As a matter of abundant precaution, and following the prescribed SOPs, the crew stopped on the taxiway and activated the onboard engine fire extinguishers," the statement said.

Air India Express also said the matter is being investigated by the regulatory authorities as well as the airline's flight safety department.

A senior official at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the regulator is probing the incident and appropriate action will be taken after the investigation is completed.

Air India Express has arranged a relief flight to bring back the guests from Muscat.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of Oman said there was fire in one of the engines of the aircraft.

"Before the aircraft take off, the aircraft was hit by a failure and a fire in one of its engines, which required an immediate evacuation of passengers," the authority said in a tweet.

As per preliminary information, the aircraft VT-AXZ was scheduled to operate flight IX442 from Muscat to Kochi. During taxiing, one of the engines had fire and smoke and subsequently, all the passengers and crew were evacuated on taxiway. Slides were deployed to evacuate the people, the DGCA official said.

According to another input, an observer reported that during taxiing, one of the plane's engines was on fire, the official added.

14/09/22 Outlook

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AAI mulls campaign in Chennai against waste dumping as bird hits on rise

Chennai: With the increasing incidence of bird hits on aircraft that take off from Chennai international airport, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is planning an extensive campaign against dumping of waste in open places as this attracts birds.

AAI officials told IANS that open waste dumping, keeping open boxes to collect garbage, and dumping of poultry waste are the main reasons for birds flocking in large numbers near the airport, resulting in hits with aircraft.

An AAI source told IANS that the campaign against waste dumping will be conducted in FM radio programmes, with a bid to promote disposal of waste in a responsible manner.

The airport has the equipment to scare the birds away but according to airport officials, the birds get accustomed to it and it does not evoke fear in them any longer. The airport is also planning to procure water cannons in large numbers as a measure to scare away the birds.

A recent meeting between the AAI officials and the passenger advisory committee has discussed better coordination between the Greater Chennai Corporation and the AAI for better waste management. According to AAI officials, the lasting solution is the removal of things that attract birds, and an end to open waste dumping is important.

06/09/22 New Indian Express

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1981 Indian Airlines hijacker Gajinder Singh reveals his Pakistan location in social media post

New Delhi: Contradictory to the Pakistan government's denial of his presence, Gajinder Singh, an accused hijacker of a 1981 Indian Airlines flight, revealed his current location was Pakistan's Punjab province. The location of the fugitive terrorist surfaced after the individual posted an image of himself, posing for the camera in front of a gurudwara, on his Facebook profile.

The runaway hijacker of an Indian Airlines aircraft, which was headed to Amritsar and was forcibly diverted to Lahore in 1981, uploaded his image on Monday.

Singh, known as the co-founder of the radical organisation Dal Khalsa, shared his photograph, standing in front of Pania Sahib Gurudwara at Hasal Abdal in Pakistan's province of Punjab.

An Indian Airlines Boeing 737 domestic passenger aircraft, departing from the Delhi airport and scheduled to land at Amritsar, was hijacked by five terrorists of the Dal Khalsa on September 29, 1981. Reports suggest that the hijackers were armed with daggers and hand grenades. After hijacking the aircraft which was carrying around 111 passengers, the terrorists forced a diversion to the Lahore airport.

Their demand was the establishment of a separate State for Sikhs. The leader of the hijackers was Gajindra Singh, whose recent images have appeared in Pakistan. The hijackers not only demanded the release of another terrorist, and the leading face of the Khalistani movement, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, but also spoke with the Indian envoy to Pakistan, Natwar Singh, demanding a sum of USD 500,000.

The hijackers underwent a trial in Pakistan and were sentenced to life imprisonment by a court. However, they were released from jail and allowed to walk free in October 1994. Reports suggest that Singh had been on the country's most wanted list during 2002 and the Indian government has repeatedly tabled requests to Islamabad seeking his deportation.

Reports suggest that Pakistan, over the years, has denied Singh's presence on its soil.

06/09/22 India Today

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Delhi-Mumbai Vistara flight returns midway after 'whistling' sound in cockpit

A Delhi-Mumbai flight of Vistara airlines returned midway to Delhi on Monday after a "whistling" sound was heard on the right side of the Boeing 737 aircraft cockpit, a DGCA official said. The DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) has ordered a probe into the incident even as no structural deficiency was observed during preliminary ground inspection of the plane, the official said.

Vistara -- a joint venture of Tata and Singapore Airlines Limited (SIA) -- confirmed the return of its Mumbai flight UK 951 back to Delhi, saying that the pilot decided to do so after a technical snag was detected shortly after its take-off.

"Vistara operated (Delhi-Mumbai) flight UK 951 was involved in an air turnback to Delhi as a whistling sound was heard from the right side in the cockpit. Aircraft has landed safely," the official stated.

"As a precautionary step, pilots decided to turn back and the aircraft landed safely at the IGI Airport, Delhi," the airline said in a statement.

An alternate aircraft was immediately arranged to fly the passengers to their destination, it said.

Besides Vistara, Tata Group also owns Air India and its low-cost international arm Air India Express and it holds a majority stake in low-cost airline AirAsia India.

05/09/22 PTI/Economic Times

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Mumbai-bound flight grounded after take-off in Bhopal due to technical snag

A Mumbai-bound IndiGo flight from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh was grounded after take-off on Monday due to a technical snag, an Airports Authority of India (AAI) official said here.

The flight returned to Bhopal's Raja Bhoj International Airport after take-off due to the snag in the morning, he said.

It was carrying 183 passengers, 117 of whom were adjusted in another aircraft in the evening by cancelling a Delhi-bound flight, the official informed.

"The remaining passengers were adjusted on other flights and also by arranging accommodation," he added.

05/09/22 PTI/Economic Times

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